new Rivage owner

Hi Guys

I have just bought my 3rd rivage, my last one I sold 7 years ago!

its green, bodywork is ok

needs the following sorted

- timing - pinking on load and some flat spots.
- cam oil leak
- bad brake judder
- carpet looks like its shrunk a bit - left in rain open I think!
- leather interior is tatty
- missing original steering wheel and handbrake gaitor
- missing interior mirror

its done a few miles but the things seem minor (hopefully) so looking for any tips
 

Welcome along and back to owning a Mk1   Upload some pictures as we always like to see photos…

What fuel are you using normal or super unleaded? as that may be why the car is pinking, If it's the k-jet injection system they do run best on super unleaded.
Or it could be the cam belt is a tooth out last time the cam belt was changed so if you are changing the oil seal on the cam shaft you will be able to check the timing marks as I would look at them first before adjusting the timing via the dissy.

Welcome aboard.

Is this the one off E Bay from down South?

I have a Green LTH Rivage, great cars and yes mine runs on super unleaded. It hates normal stuff..

Get some pictures up so we can have a nosey and start a project thread up in the projects forum so we can see you work your magic on her.

Good to have another Green Rivage owner on here I was getting lonely LOL..

Firstly welcome to the Club! 
Great to see that you've seen sense and joined the sunny side of the Club. 

Look forward to seeing it and how it develops over time.
I take it that you plan to keep it original or close to it? 
Or maybe not!

 Thanks for the welcome guys!

mark1gls said

Welcome along and back to owning a Mk1   Upload some pictures as we always like to see photos…

What fuel are you using normal or super unleaded? as that may be why the car is pinking, If it's the k-jet injection system they do run best on super unleaded.
Or it could be the cam belt is a tooth out last time the cam belt was changed so if you are changing the oil seal on the cam shaft you will be able to check the timing marks as I would look at them first before adjusting the timing via the dissy.

I used super on it and it still feels flat some points and pinky on lower revs, I think it may be the timing belt as the last owner changed it. Just wondering if I should attempt the leak.

chortle said

Welcome aboard.

Is this the one off E Bay from down South?

I have a Green LTH Rivage, great cars and yes mine runs on super unleaded. It hates normal stuff..

Get some pictures up so we can have a nosey and start a project thread up in the projects forum so we can see you work your magic on her.

Good to have another Green Rivage owner on here I was getting lonely LOL..

it is so, toyed with buying it, was hell of a way down from me. not as clean as I thought so needs a lot of TLC.

will get some pics up soon

golfcabrio said

Firstly welcome to the Club! 
Great to see that you've seen sense and joined the sunny side of the Club. 

Look forward to seeing it and how it develops over time.
I take it that you plan to keep it original or close to it? 
Or maybe not!

thanks

Have a look through my build thread, may give you a couple ideas.

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&type=misc&id=projects%2Fyour-mk1-golfs_2%2Fchortles-project-green

thanks Chortle, lovely motor, a lot of hard work and dedication there.

just shows how much work I have ahead!

do you know if all green rivages came with beige carpets? mine has black.

yes the greens all were LTH with beige carpets.

these get dirty so folks bin them.

Blue ones had a couple of changes late on near end of production.  Different interior. Black carpet, no GTI badge as these were based on the clipper base model with the JH engine fitted.

so I`ll add the beige carpet to my list black looks ok IF it fitted the sides correctly.

Most carpets seem to pull away from the edges around the footwell, there's supposed to be some binding fabric that is sewn to the carpet edge then folded over the body seam then the strip holds it there. You may need to put some more underlay to lift the carpet a bit too. It's worth seeing if you have a local carpet shop or upholsterers that will sew you some new binding tape on.

thanks chortle, that's good to know, and a good point about the underlay!

I think the car has had its roof left open in the rain for a period as the seats are pretty knackered and some of the interior screw heads have a touch of surface rust.

I think to start with I need to get an interior mirror sourced and the brakes replaced as they judder really bad, im hoping it is the brakes warped and not anything more.

next on the list will be to get the cam seal replaced and the timing sorted.

thnaksfully this is a second car so theres no rush!

I do however need to clear the garage out to get it in the dry!

what does everyone use for waterproofing the roof? it beads nicely when it showers but not so good with anything more.

Probably leaking roof?
Get a Kampa damp buster off E bay. I use one in my car keeps the damp down proper.

These roofs don't last forever, but I recommend 303 areospace fabric Guard. Just google them.

Thanks chortle, roof seems fine, been sitting in the rain for the last week till I make some space in the dry, everything seems nice n dry.

Just spent the day replacing front brakes and painting calipers and backing plates , just gotta wait for new bolts to arrive to finish that job off and hopefully cure the juddering

ok juddering definitely cured!

Drove it last weekend for an hour and the oil buzzer came on, checked the oil and it was very low, stuck a litre in and buzzer turned off.

Oil seems to be leaking from the cam seal- it looks like its popped out, may see if I can push the existing one back in till I find some more time.

Hi, 
I've just done my cam seal. I have no mechanical background but I still found it straight forward. I replaced the (disintegrated) old one with the MK3 rubber one, replacing the studs as well. With little experience and only the advice on this forum to go by, I managed it in less than an hour!
If I can do it then anyone can!
VW Heritage sell the replacement seal and studs.
Good luck 

Thanks for the info Rfd

Got the rubber seal from ECP,what studs are you mentioning?

i will be replacing rocker gasket and sump gasket to seal all the little leaks.

any pointers appreciated

Alps

Hi, I ordered this kit from VW Heritage. Came with the studs as well. https://vwheritage.mobi/productDetails.cfm?iItemID=199827

Fitting is a case of removing the rocker cover then using two of the nuts (rethread two for them, lock them tight together and then unwind the lower one)
to remove the eight studs (carefully!) and then fit the new studs, gasket and the rocker cover. The central two studs on the rear of the block were a bit fiddly to work on but not impossible. 

Ill see if I can find the thread on here that helped me. M
Good luck!

Ahh that's the rocker cover gasket, I need to replace the camshaft seal which is a little more involved , thanks tho

Ah sorry, my misunderstanding there. I can't help at all with that then